TW202242170A - Web edge metrology - Google Patents

Abstract

Metrology systems and processing methods for continuous lithium ion battery (LIB) anode pre-lithiation and solid metal anode protection are provided. In some embodiments, the metrology system integrates at least one complementary non-contact sensor to measure at least one of surface composition, coating thickness, and nanoscale roughness. The metrology system and processing methods can be used to address anode edge quality. The metrology system and methods can facilitate high quality and high yield closed loop anode pre-lithiation and anode protection layer deposition, alloy-type anode pre-lithiation stage control improves LIB coulombic efficiency, and anode coating with pinhole free and electrochemically active protection layers resist dendrite formation.

Description

Web edge metering

Embodiments described herein generally relate to vacuum deposition systems and methods for processing flexible substrates. More specifically, embodiments described and discussed herein relate to roll-to-roll vacuum deposition systems and methods for monitoring and controlling material deposition.

Rechargeable electrochemical storage systems are increasingly important to many areas of everyday life. High-capacity energy storage devices such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and capacitors are used in a growing number of applications including portable electronics, medical, transportation, and grid-connected large energy storage , renewable energy storage and uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In each of these applications, the charge/discharge time and capacity of the energy storage element are fundamental parameters. Furthermore, the size, weight and/or cost of such energy storage elements are also fundamental parameters. Further, low internal resistance is indispensable for high performance. The lower the resistance, the less constraints the energy storage element encounters in delivering electrical energy. For example, in the case of batteries, internal resistance affects performance by reducing the amount of useful energy stored by the battery and reducing the ability of the battery to deliver high currents.

Efficient roll-to-roll deposition processes not only provide high deposition rates, but also film surfaces that are devoid of small-scale roughness, contain minimal devoids, and are flat (eg, devoid of large-scale topography). In addition, efficient roll-to-roll deposition processes also provide consistent deposition results or "repeatability." Deposition of material on a web substrate with uncontrolled, misaligned, or incorrect positioning of the web material relative to the deposition source can adversely affect the process results and internal resistance of the final cell.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved apparatus and method for monitoring and controlling the deposition of material in roll-to-roll polishing systems.

Embodiments described herein generally relate to vacuum deposition systems and methods for processing flexible substrates. More specifically, embodiments described and discussed herein relate to roll-to-roll vacuum deposition systems and methods for monitoring and controlling material deposition.

In one or more embodiments, a flexible substrate coating system is provided, the flexible substrate coating system includes: a processing module having: a plurality of chambers arranged in sequence, each chamber is configured To perform one or more processing operations on a continuous sheet of flexible material. The processing module further includes a coating drum capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of chambers along a direction of travel, wherein the chambers are radially disposed around the coating drum. The processing module further includes a metering module. The metering module includes: a plurality of non-contact sensors positioned side by side along a transverse direction, wherein the transverse direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction.

In other embodiments, the plurality of non-contact sensors includes a spectral sensor assembly operable to capture the temperature of coated and uncoated portions of the continuous sheet of flexible material. spectral imagery. The spectral sensor includes a strobe light source and an imager. The imager is a charge-coupled device (CCD) array. The plurality of non-contact sensors includes a first eddy current sensor and a second eddy current sensor, the first eddy current sensor operable to measure the thickness of the coated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material , the second eddy current sensor is operable to measure the thickness of the uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The coating system further includes an optical profiler operable to measure web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The plurality of non-contact sensors includes a web roughness sensor operable to measure coated portions of the continuous sheet of flexible material and uncoated portions of the continuous sheet of flexible material. Surface roughness of the covered part. The web roughness sensor includes an argon laser and a CMOS camera. The coating system further includes: an unwinding module housing a feed reel capable of providing the continuous sheet of flexible material; and a winding module housing a take-up reel capable of storing the continuous sheet of flexible material. The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate on which a lithium metal layer is formed. The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate on which a lithiated anode film is formed. The anode film is selected from graphite anode film, silicon-graphite anode film or silicon film. The plurality of chambers includes at least one of a sputtering source, a thermal evaporation source, and an electron beam source.

In some embodiments, the method comprises the step of transporting the continuous sheet of flexible material from a feed reel in the unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating A drum, the first coating drum is capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units. The method further comprises the step of: guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units along the direction of travel while simultaneously depositing a lithium metal film on the flexible substrate via the first plurality of deposition units, wherein the cavities Chambers are arranged radially around the coating drum. The method further comprises the step of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors positioned side by side along a transverse direction, wherein the optical sensors have A field of view coincident with the path of travel traversed by the continuous sheet of flexible material, with the transverse direction perpendicular to the direction of travel. The method further includes the step of blinking a strobe light in the field of view while directing the continuous sheet of flexible material across the field of view. The method further includes the step of obtaining a still image of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view. The method further comprises the step of directing corresponding light channel elements of light channels reflected from corresponding image elements of the image to corresponding positions of the spectral beam splitter. The method further includes the step of recording the spectral distribution at each image element within the field of view.

In one or more embodiments, the method further comprises the steps of searching for distributions that are similar to each other and grouping the distributions into groups of distributions that are similar to each other. The method further comprises the step of sorting the groups according to the number of distributions contained in each group. The method further comprises the steps of selecting at least one of the largest groups and combining the distributions of the group and providing the combined distribution as the spectral distribution of a region of the continuous sheet of flexible material . The method further comprises the step of processing the combined distribution according to a spectral analysis procedure. The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the copper substrate. The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate on which an anode film is formed and the lithium metal film is formed on the anode film. The anode film is selected from graphite anode film, silicon-graphite anode film or silicon film.

In other embodiments, the method comprises the step of transporting the continuous sheet of flexible material from a feed reel in the unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating A coating drum, the first coating drum is capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units. The method further comprises the step of: guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units along the direction of travel while simultaneously depositing a lithium metal film on the flexible substrate via the first plurality of deposition units, wherein the cavities Chambers are arranged radially around the coating drum. The method further includes the step of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors positioned side by side along a transverse direction. The optical sensors have a field of view coincident with a path of travel traversed by the continuous sheet of flexible material, and the transverse direction is perpendicular to the direction of travel. The method further includes the step of obtaining a first non-contact resistivity measurement of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view. The method further includes the step of using the first non-contact resistivity measurement to determine a first thickness of the lithium metal film.

Embodiments may include one or more of the following potential advantages. The step of determining the first thickness of the lithium metal film includes comparing the first non-contact resistivity measurement with a previously determined correlation between the resistivity measurement and a corresponding lithium metal film thickness. The method further comprises the step of obtaining a non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view. The method further comprises the step of determining web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material based on the non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The method further includes the step of adjusting the first thickness measurement of the lithium metal film based on the web flutter to determine a corrected first thickness of the lithium metal film. The method further includes the step of aging the lithium metal film for a period of time. The method further includes the step of obtaining a second non-contact resistivity measurement of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view after aging the lithium metal film for the period of time. The method further includes the step of using the second non-contact resistivity measurement to determine a second thickness of the lithium metal film. The step of determining the second thickness of the lithium metal film includes comparing the second non-contact resistivity measurement with a previously determined correlation between the resistivity measurement and a corresponding lithium metal film thickness. The method further includes the step of determining a prelithiated amount of an anodic film deposited on the continuous sheet of flexible material by comparing the first thickness of the lithium metal film to the second thickness of the lithium metal film . The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the copper substrate. The continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate on which an anode film is formed and the lithium metal film is formed on the anode film. The anode film is selected from graphite anode film, silicon-graphite anode film or silicon film.

In some embodiments, the method comprises the step of transporting the continuous sheet of flexible material from a feed reel in the unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating A drum, the first coating drum is capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units. The method further comprises the step of: guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units along the direction of travel while simultaneously depositing a lithium metal film on the flexible substrate via the first plurality of deposition units, wherein the cavities Chambers are arranged radially around the coating drum. The method further comprises the step of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors positioned side by side along a transverse direction, wherein the optical sensors have A field of view coincident with the path of travel traversed by the continuous sheet of flexible material, with the transverse direction perpendicular to the direction of travel. The method further includes the step of projecting three or more fringe patterns of polarized structured light onto the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view. The method further comprises the step of recording, for each fringe offset, the intensity at each image element within the field of view. The method further includes the step of: determining a measure of coating roughness based on the image element intensity distribution.

In other embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the operations of the above apparatus and/or methods.

The following disclosure describes a roll-to-roll vacuum deposition system, metering system, and method for forming at least two layers on a flexible substrate. Certain details are set forth in the following description and in Figures 1-10 to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Additional details describing well-known structures and systems commonly associated with coil coating, coating metering systems, electrochemical cells, and secondary batteries are not set forth in the following disclosure to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the various embodiments. Get blurry.

Many of the details, dimensions, angles and other features shown in the drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments only. Accordingly, other embodiments may have other details, components, dimensions, angles, and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, further embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced without several of the details described below.

Energy storage elements, such as batteries, generally include a positive electrode (an anodic electrode separated by a porous separator) and an electrolyte (which serves as an ion-conducting matrix). Graphite anodes are the state of the art, but the industry is moving from graphite-based anodes to silicon-mixed graphite anodes to increase battery energy density. However, silicon-hybrid graphite anodes often suffer from an irreversible capacity loss that occurs during the first cycle. Therefore, a method for compensating for this first cycle capacity loss is needed. In addition, lithium metal anodes are also considered. However, lithium metal anodes have many safety concerns.

Vacuum coil coating for anode pre-lithiation and solid metal anode protection involves alloyed graphite anodes and current collectors (e.g. six micron or thicker copper foil, nickel foil, or metallized Thick (three to twenty micrometers) metallic lithium deposition on a plastic sheet). Pre-lithiation and solid metal anode coil coating further involves thin (eg less than 1 micron) protective layer coating. In the absence of a protective coating, the surface of metallic lithium (via thermal evaporation or rolled foil) is susceptible to adverse corrosion and oxidation.

In some embodiments, metering systems and processes for continuous lithium-ion battery (“LIB”) electric vehicle (“EV”) anode pre-lithiation and consumer electronics (“CE”) solid metal anode protection are provided. In some embodiments, the metrology system integrates at least one complementary non-contact sensor to measure at least one of surface composition, coating thickness, and nanoscale roughness. The metering system and treatment method can be used to solve the problem of anode edge quality. Metering system and method can promote high-quality and high-yield closed-loop anode pre-lithiation and anode protective layer deposition; EV alloy-type anode pre-lithiation stage control improves LIB Coulombic efficiency; CE anode with pinhole-free and electrochemically active protective layer The coating prevents dendrite formation.

Coil coating for EV anode pre-lithiation and CE solid metal anode protection typically involves alloy-type graphite anodes and current collectors (e.g. six micron or thicker copper, nickel or metal foils) coated and rolled on both sides. Thick (for example, three to twenty micrometers) lithium metal deposition is carried out on the thinned plastic sheet). EV and CE anode coil coating further generally involves thin (<1 micron) protective layer coating.

Thin protective layers coated on reactive metallic lithium coatings are difficult to characterize using conventional radioisotope coil metrology, which generally relies on base density changes and is therefore relatively insensitive to thin lithium films. For example, krypton-85 radioisotope source sensitivity is optimal for gains greater than 25 ^g /m2; however, a twenty micron thick lithium coating results in a gain of only 11 ^g /m2. Further, metallic lithium and protective coil coatings are difficult to use with conventional thin-film quartz crystal microbalances (QMBs), laser triangulation (such as Keyence and Micro-Epsilon LVDT interferometers), and capacitive (such as eddy current sensors) (ECS)) to characterize. Furthermore, conventional thin film sensors only provide global reference values; readings cannot be used to assess localized (web edge) film composition (such as surface contamination) and are susceptible to caused by the winding vibration of the material) to generate noise.

The local film composition at the edge of the anode near the cathode overhang is a factor that affects the performance of the cell. For prismatic and jelly-roll cells, the anode is typically about 0.5 mm larger than the cathode on all sides, or about 0.1 mm along the top and bottom. Further, excess metallic lithium in this "overhang" region along the edge of the anode (via thermal evaporation intended for pre-lithiation) may pose a significant safety hazard and may adversely jeopardize the battery. efficacy.

In addition to formulating the anode with a ten to fifteen percent higher electrochemical capacity, overhangs (as small as 0.1 mm wide) are provided to avoid migration of lithium ions from the cathode to the anode risk. Therefore, lithium-ion battery manufacturing generally involves precise process control of the amount of metallic lithium, and ultimately involves control of the pre-lithiation stage when the anode coating is close to the edge of the overhang 0.5 to 0.1 mm.

A consequence of the need for precise metallic lithium coating prior to the interlayer near the anode overhang region is that the edge quality of the protective layer is also of similarly high concern. For example, if an galvanically insulating overcoat material such as LiCO3 is surface converted on as-deposited Li metal to minimize the air reactivity of Li metal during cell assembly, verify that the carbonate overcoat is not too thick It is very important. If the surface converted lithium carbonate is too thick, there may be dead lithium (eg lithium compound) instead of metallic lithium near the overhang. Along the anode edge, spent lithium is undesirable because it may introduce dendrite hazards, which defeat the techno-economic motivation for anode prelithiation.

If an electrochemically active protective layer material, such as lithium fluoride, is coated on the as-deposited metallic lithium to minimize contact resistance and improve electrolyte wetting in addition to minimizing the air reactivity of metallic lithium during cell assembly, then It is important to verify that the lithium fluoride protective layer is not too rough. If the protective layer is too rough, then pinholes, contamination of the underlying lithium metal surface, and other undesirable defects can appear near the overhangs.

Therefore, there is a need for a metering system capable of accurately measuring the composition, thickness non-uniformity and roughness of lithium metal and protective layer. Without the web edge metering system described herein, costly and undesirable trial and error would be required to optimize anode edge quality. Additionally, due to the need for costly destructive SEM cross-sectional analysis and the inability to separate high-quality coated lengths from "reworkable" lengths on each roll, a toll coating business strategy based on coating high-mix anode design would not be feasible.

Some embodiments described and discussed herein improve conventional roll-to-roll ("R2R") metering. As noted above, radioisotope and other sensors have limited utility for the characterization of alkali metal patterned webs. That said, some aspects of conventional sensors are useful, but certain limitations need to be overcome.

One such sensor is a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) sensor. The LVDT sensor triangulates the time-of-flight between the laser source, surface and receiver, and then correlates the time-of-flight to the calibrated coating thickness. In battery coating applications, coating thickness and uniformity are typically modulated in response to calculated differences between real-time coil recipe set points and LVDT thickness measurements.

Unfortunately, LVDT deposition thickness control alone is not sufficient for anodic preplating because LVDT sensors are not suitable for nanometer-scale roughness due to low resolution, nor are they suitable for detecting the presence of nanometer-thick protective layers or surface contamination . LVDT sensors are even more unsuitable for anode pre-lithiation because the lithium metal coating deposited on the silicon anode is known to become thinner and thinner as the lithium metal coating intercalates into silicon and graphite; therefore, relying on LVDT sensors are insufficient to characterize pre-lithiated coatings.

Furthermore, LVDT deposition thickness control is hampered by measurement noise caused by inherent web chatter, as far as metallic lithium layer thickness is concerned. Measurement noise can be compensated numerically, but again, a high value issue is edge characterization near the anode overhang, which is typically smaller than the spot size of many LVDT sensors (e.g. less than 0.5mm).

Some embodiments described and discussed herein provide web edge characterization near the 0.5 mm overhang at the anode edge using inventive optical and capacitive based metrology systems that also benefit from LVDT values Compensated thickness measurement.

Embodiments described and discussed herein may include one or more of the following advantages. Metallic lithium can be distinguished from lithium compounds including protective layers and contamination. A color change was observed after the application of metallic lithium and protective layer coatings to the pre-lithiated anode and the lithium metal anode. These color changes, which are observable by the naked eye, are considered by the inventors to be an opportunity to further facilitate accurate non-contact optical-based characterization using broad spectrum (eg strobe light) and narrow band (eg laser light source).

Some battery designs, such as fast-charging EV LIBs, require more silicon and therefore more lithium than others. That is, excessive metallic lithium coating near the coil edge and overprotection presents a safety hazard and negates the techno-economic advantages of anode prelithiation.

Embodiments described and discussed herein may further include one or more of the following advantages. It can be verified that excess metal lithium and invalid lithium will not appear along the edge of the anode and the overhang of the EV anode. Further, coating defects (such as insufficient lithium metal thickness or insufficient protective layer thickness) can be detected and the coil can be reprocessed on a second pass through the coil coater to minimize scrap. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed herein may also be adapted for overcoat characterization in the center of the web or elsewhere in the transverse and machine directions. For example, spectroscopic analysis can be used to detect lithium "splash" on the anode if the spectroscopic module is tuned to view the full lateral width of the web (e.g. the same number of CMOS pixels, but each pixel is on a millimeter scale). )". While spatter generally cannot be reworked, spatter and other imperfections can be mapped such that the remainder of a larger portion of the coil can be manually salvaged, which may be acceptable for some applications.

For CE LIBs, some battery designs for CE applications that are not cost sensitive use high purity and exotic materials that are not suitable for EV applications. Protective layers for CE anodes can be deposited using reactive chemistries (such as pyrophoric and toxic precursors) to produce more complex functional protective layers (sometimes multilayered) than simply minimizing air reactivity. For these next-generation protective layers under development, the advantages of the optics described and discussed herein are the ability to discriminate surface composition and nanoscale roughness near the web edge (and CE anode overhang).

As mentioned earlier, for EV and CE LIB, a color change can be observed in the lithium "sandwiched" between the substrate and coating combination. In some embodiments, the optics of the metrology system are designed to detect these subtle color changes. The inventors believe that observable color changes, including various shades of gray and white, are an important indicator of coil, process and applicator health. For example, observable color changes can aid in anode development and manufacturing by quantifying visible film transitions that occur after coating, sometimes hours to days to weeks after cell assembly. and before aging.

In some embodiments, metering systems and processing methods for continuous lithium ion battery ("LIB") anode pre-lithiation and solid-state metal anode protection are provided. The metering system includes various modules and methods.

In some embodiments, the metrology system includes a spectrometer system for spectroscopic (real-time) analysis of as-deposited lithium metal roughness, surface contamination, and/or protective layer quality. A spectroscopic metrology system may include one or more broadband light sources. Broad-spectrum light sources are used for regional (e.g. circular > Ø25 mm or rectangular > 25 mm wide) specular and spectral analysis. Specular and spectral analysis can be focused along the edge of the web. For example, if the anode has a start-stop intermittent coating, the broadband light source can be constant or strobe.

The spectroscopic metrology system may further include one or more image sensors. The one or more image sensors may be focused on the LIB anode in the area illuminated by the broadband light source to detect reflected light emissions.

The spectroscopic metrology system may further include an image sensor signal processor. The image sensor signal processor converts the specular intensity into calibrated reflectance values. For example, a high reflectivity may indicate a "reflector-like" lithium metal finish, and a low reflectivity may indicate a "dull" lithium metal finish. A "reflector-like" metallic lithium finish can be a feature of a desirable high metallic lithium purity, in which case there is no undesired surface contamination over the metallic lithium. Lower surface roughness can be characteristic of a desirable high metallic lithium deposition quality, in which case there is no agglomeration of small lithium ion clusters and undesirable "splattering" or "re-melting" of lithium. Image sensor elements can also be used to detect edge-scale drift, such as mean straightness. Image sensor signal processing can be used to convert spectral emission signatures into calibrated overcoat compositions. Deviations in the wavelength of the reflected light beyond material-specific established spectral process control limits are indicative of adverse protective layer process deviations. Metering system feedback to the controller can be used to adjust deposition parameters. For example, if a low reflectance value is detected, the controller logs a contamination fault. Contamination failures may be caused by vacuum leaks, anode outgassing, or any other source of oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen (“O-H-N”). Feedback from the metering system allows operators to stop or modify the lithium metal deposition process to minimize waste. If the spectral spikes have different intensities (e.g., the intensity spikes are less than the minimum threshold, or occur at different wavelengths, e.g., the spikes "shift" to less than the minimum spectral threshold limit or greater than the maximum wavelength threshold limit), the controller logs a protection layer failure. Shield failure may be caused by depletion of the shield material source, such as gas source or solid source depletion, deposition on contaminated lithium metal, deposition on inhomogeneous (large lithium clusters) lithium metal, or any other Protection layer deposition process window deviation. Feedback from the metrology system allows operators to adjust or terminate the resist deposition process to minimize scrap. The spectrometry described herein can be used to monitor reflector finishes and composite spectral color changes. Further, material specific wave libraries can be developed to make process adjustment or termination decisions.

In some embodiments, the metrology system includes an eddy current sensor (ECS) based metrology system for monitoring the as-deposited coating thickness and protective layer application. The metering system may further include a displacement sensor. The metrology system may comprise a sensor arrangement comprising at least one pair of eddy current sensors, and a displacement sensor. The displacement sensor may be a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) profile gauge thickness sensor. A sensor arrangement can be positioned in the coating system to monitor the as-deposited lithium metal and the protective layer coating to determine the lithium metal thickness gain. The signal from the ECS positioned over the uncoated portion of the web (eg, bare copper) is canceled or subtracted from the ECS signal of the capacitive sensor positioned over the coated anode portion of the web. In this way, only the capacitance of the anode coating (no copper foil) is considered. The signal can be further corrected for web chatter using the lift-off distance measured by the LVDT profiler. The as-deposited metallic lithium reservoir micron-scale thickness can be measured in the transverse web direction by positioning the sensor across the width of the web. Any suitable number of sensors may be used, depending on the desired measurements. For example, for each deposition source, a set of eddy current sensors and LVDT thickness sensors can be positioned before and after the deposition source to provide lithium metal thickness gain measurements in the cross-web direction. In one example where there are three deposition sources, a set of eddy current sensors and LVDT thickness sensors can be positioned in front of and behind the deposition sources for a total of six sensors, which provides three sensors in the cross-web direction. Lithium metal thickness gain measurement.

After pre-lithiation at a predetermined temperature in an environment favorable for lithium ion intercalation, micrometer-scale depletion of the as-deposited metallic lithium reservoir thickness in the transverse web direction can be measured. Measuring micron-scale depletion of metallic lithium reservoir thickness helps in deciding when to deposit subsequent protective layers. One advantage of applying a protective layer before or after pre-lithiation conditioning and micron-scale depletion of the reservoir thickness is that the possibility of generating spent lithium is minimized. Due to the slow intercalation process of metallic lithium into the anode, applying a protective layer before metallic lithium intercalation may trap metallic lithium on the surface. Therefore, it is best to apply the protective layer after the metallic lithium reservoir has been controllably stabilized or intercalated into the anode.

In some embodiments, the metrology system includes a polarized structured light (PSL) generator and an image sensor. The PSL generator and image sensor can be configured to monitor lithium metal edge sharpness. The metering system includes a sensor arrangement including a PSL generator and an image sensor. The sensor arrangement may be concentrated on one or more edges of the anode. The sensor arrangement can be positioned behind the lithium metal and protective coating source. The PSL generator can project a narrow band of light onto the edge of the three-dimensional anode. Coatings near the edges of 3D anodes generally have inherent nanoscale roughness, which leads to scattering and depolarization of reflected polarized light. The scattered and depolarized light is recorded by an image sensor. The roughness proportional to the polarized light source is calculated using the comparison between the two reference waves and the emission from the anode. In one example, the polarized light source may be a laser source, such as a 488 nm laser source.

Near and far as-deposited metallic lithium geometries were recorded continuously or intermittently along the length of the coil. Structured light can be supplemented by tightening the field of view to the edges (either inside or outside the graphite step for pre-lithiated anodes, and either inside or outside the pure lithium step for lithium metal anodes) Conventional laser profiler. An example of a laser profiler that can be used with embodiments described herein includes the Keyence LJ-X8020 (which can measure anode edge definition over a 7.5mm width and has 0.3μm for both Z and X axes Edge thickness (Z-axis) and straightness (X-axis) repeatability) and Keyence CL-PT010 (which can measure anode edge definition within 10mm width and has 0.2 μm edge for both axes thickness and straightness repeatability). Polarized structured light benefits from runout-compensated thickness measurements determined using conventional profilometers and narrows the field of view by providing nanometer-scale roughness inside or outside the coated area near the anode overhang .

For pre-lithiated anodes, the controller logs a coating failure if metallic lithium is outside the slurry cast anode coating. Lithium metal outside the slurry-cast anode can be detected if the sensing points are focused on rolled-annealed (RA) or electrodeposited (ED) copper. For lithium metal anodes, if metallic lithium is outside the preferred coating boundaries, the controller logs a coating fault and processing can be terminated. Because it can be challenging to rework or remove metallic lithium coatings outside of the preferred coating coverage area, the controller can log coating failures to facilitate salvage of portions of the coil that meet coating specifications.

For pre-lithiated anodes and lithium metal anodes, if the lithium metal quality is too thin and/or too rough within the preferred coating boundaries, the controller can log a coating fault and adjust the coating recipe. For most PVD systems, edge definition is controlled using a conventional (heated) temperature-controlled mask liner. However, if the mask liner is too hot, the direct radiation to the edge will be greater than optimum, the lithium metal coating may re-melt, and the surface roughness increases while the overall thickness decreases. Therefore, if the PSL and profiler indicate high edge roughness or edge thinning, active fluid cooling or heater power modulation can be applied to the temperature controlled mask to reduce the mask temperature proportionally.

For pre-lithiated anodes and lithium metal anodes, if the lithium metal thickness is too thin and smooth, the controller can log a coating failure and attempt to adjust the coating recipe. For most PVD systems, coating thickness is determined by steam source temperature, web speed, and web gap pressure. If the web speed is too high or the steam source temperature is too low, the coating may be too thin. Therefore, if the PSL and profiler indicate low edge roughness and the edges are thinning, the steam power source can be increased and/or the web speed can be decreased.

Note that while the particular substrates on which embodiments described herein may be practiced are not limited, it is particularly beneficial to practice embodiments on flexible substrates, including, for example, web-based substrates, panels, and discrete sheets. The substrate may also be in the form of a foil, film or sheet.

Note also here that flexible substrates or webs used within the embodiments described herein may generally be characterized as being bendable. The term "coil" may be used synonymously with the term "strip" or the term "flexible substrate". For example, the webs described in the examples herein may be foils.

Note further that in some embodiments where the substrate is a vertically oriented substrate, the vertically oriented substrate may be angled relative to vertical. For example, in some embodiments, the substrate may be angled from about 1 degree to about 20 degrees relative to vertical. In some embodiments where the substrate is a horizontally oriented substrate, the horizontally oriented substrate may be angled relative to the horizontal. For example, in some embodiments, the substrate may be angled from about 1 degree to about 20 degrees relative to horizontal. As used herein, the term "vertical" is defined as a major surface or deposition surface of a flexible conductive substrate that is perpendicular to a horizontal line. As used herein, the term "horizontal" is defined as a major surface or deposition surface of a flexible conductive substrate that is parallel to a horizontal line.

Note further that in this disclosure a "roller" or "roller" may be understood as an element that provides a surface with which a substrate (or a portion of a substrate) may contact during its presence in a processing system. At least a portion of a "roller" or "drum" as referred to herein may comprise a circular-like shape for contacting a substrate to be or has been processed. In some embodiments, a "roller" or "drum" may have a cylindrical or substantially cylindrical shape. The substantially cylindrical shape may be formed about a straight longitudinal axis, or may be formed about a curved longitudinal axis. According to some embodiments, a "roller" or "drum" as described herein may be adapted for contacting a flexible substrate. For example, a "roller" or "roller" as referred to herein may be: a guide roller adapted to guide the substrate while it is being processed (eg, during a deposition process) or while the substrate is present in a processing system; a spreader roller adapted to provide a defined tension to the substrate to be coated; a deflection roller for deflecting the substrate according to a defined path of travel; a process roller for supporting the substrate during processing, such as a process drum, e.g. Coating rolls or drums; conditioning rolls, supply rolls, take-up rolls, etc. A "roller" or "drum" as described herein may comprise metal. In one or more embodiments, the substrate-contacting surface of the drum element may be adapted for the respective substrate to be coated. Further, it is to be appreciated that, according to some embodiments, a roller as described herein may be mounted to a low friction roller bearing, in particular a low friction roller bearing with a dual bearing roller architecture. Thus, roller parallelism of the transport arrangement as described herein can be achieved and lateral substrate "drift" during substrate transport can be eliminated.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of one example of a flexible layer stack 100 formed in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein. The flexible layer stack 100 may be formed by a strip coating process. The flexible layer stack 100 may be formed using the metrology systems described herein. The flexible layer stack 100 may be a lithium metal anode structure. The flexible layer stack 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a continuous flexible substrate 110 on which a plurality of film stacks 112a - d (collectively 112 ) are formed. Each membrane stack 112a-d defines a strip that is separate from the strip formed by adjacent membrane stacks 112a-d. For example, the first film stack 112a defines a first strip of deposited material, the second film stack 112b defines a second strip of deposited material, the third film stack 112c defines a third strip of material, and the fourth film stack 112d defines a fourth strip of material. Bands. The pattern of film stacks 112a-d leaves uncoated strips of the continuous flexible substrate 110 exposed along the proximal edge 113 of the continuous flexible substrate 110, uncoated strips along the distal edge 117 of the continuous flexible substrate 110 A strip and an uncoated strip 115 defined between the first strip of deposition material 112a and the second strip of deposition material 112b.

Each film stack 112a-d includes a first layer 120a-d (collectively 120) and a second layer 130a-d. Although flexible layer stack 100 is shown in FIG. A small number of layers may be provided above, below and/or between the continuous flexible substrate 110 , first layer 120 and/or second layer 130 shown in FIG. 1 . Although shown as a double-sided structure, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the flex layer stack 100 can also be a single-sided structure with continuous flexible substrate 110 , first layer 120 and second layer 130 .

According to some examples described herein, the continuous flexible substrate 110 may include a first material and/or the first layer 120 may include a second material. Further, the second layer 130 may include a third material. For example, the first material may be a conductive material, generally a metal, such as copper (Cu) or nickel (Ni). Furthermore, the continuous flexible substrate 110 may also include one or more sub-layers. The second material may be a low melting point metal, such as an alkali metal, such as lithium. The third material may be a protective film or an interlayer film operable to protect the low melting point metal.

Generally, in prismatic cells, the tabs are formed from the same material as the current collectors, and can be formed during fabrication of the stack, or added later. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the current collector extends beyond the film stack, and the portion of the current collector that extends beyond the stack can serve as a tab. For example, an uncoated strip of the continuous flexible substrate 110 exposed along the proximal edge 113 of the continuous flexible substrate 110, an uncoated strip along the distal edge 117 of the continuous flexible substrate 110 and bounded by the first film Either of the uncoated strips 115 between the stack 112a and the second film stack 112b can be used to form the tabs.

According to some examples described herein, the thickness of the continuous flexible substrate 110 may be equal to or less than about 25 μm, generally equal to or less than 20 μm, specifically equal to or less than 15 μm, and/or generally equal to or greater than 3 μm, specifically equal to or greater than 5 μm. The continuous flexible substrate 110 can be thick enough to provide the intended functionality, and thin enough to remain flexible. Specifically, the continuous flexible substrate 110 can be as thin as possible so that the continuous flexible substrate 110 can still provide its intended function.

According to some examples described herein, the thickness of the first layer 120 may be equal to or less than 10 μm, generally equal to or less than 8 μm, advantageously equal to or less than 7 μm, specifically equal to or less than 6 μm, especially equal to or less than 5 μm. μm. According to some examples, the thickness of the first layer 120 may be equal to or less than 4 μm, or equal to or less than 3 μm, or equal to or less than 2 μm.

According to some examples described herein, the thickness of the second layer 130 may be equal to or less than 10 μm, generally equal to or less than 8 μm, advantageously equal to or less than 7 μm, specifically equal to or less than 6 μm, especially equal to or less than 5 μm. μm. According to some examples, the thickness of the second layer 130 may be equal to or less than 4 μm, or equal to or less than 3 μm, or equal to or less than 2 μm.

The flexible layer stack 100 shown in FIG. 1 may for example be the negative electrode of a secondary battery, such as the negative electrode or the anode of a lithium battery. According to some examples described herein, a flexible negative electrode for a lithium battery includes a continuous flexible substrate 110, which may be a current collector comprising copper, and has a thickness equal to or less than 10 μm, typically equal to or less than 8 μm , advantageously equal to or less than 7 μm, in particular equal to or less than 6 μm, in particular equal to or less than 5 μm. The flexible negative electrode further includes a first layer 120 and a second layer 130. The first layer includes lithium and has a thickness equal to or greater than 5 μm and/or equal to or less than 15 μm. The second layer 130 includes a thickness equal to or greater than 5 μm and / or a protective film equal to or less than 15 μm.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of a flexible layer stack 200 formed in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein. Flexible layer stack 200 is similar to flexible layer stack 100 depicted in FIG. 1 . The flexible layer stack 200 may be formed by a strip coating process. Flexible layer stack 200 may be formed using the metrology systems described herein. The flexible layer stack 200 may be a pre-lithiated anode structure. The flexible layer stack 200 shown in FIG. 2 includes a continuous flexible substrate 110 on which a plurality of film stacks 212a - d (collectively 212 ) are formed. Each membrane stack 212a-d defines a strip that is separate from the strip formed by adjacent membrane stacks 212a-d. Each film stack 212a - d further includes a third layer 210a - d (collectively 210 ), which is sandwiched between the continuous flexible substrate 110 and the first layer 120 . The third layer 210 may include a fourth material. The third layer 210 may have a thickness of about 10 μm to about 200 μm (eg, from about 1 μm to about 100 μm; from about 10 μm to about 30 μm; from about 20 μm to about 30 μm; from about 1 μm to about 20 μm; or from about 50 μm to about 100 μm). The fourth material may comprise graphite, silicon, silicon-containing graphite, lithium metal, lithium metal foil or lithium alloy foil (such as lithium aluminum alloy) or lithium metal and/or lithium alloy with carbon (such as coke, graphite), nickel, An anode material composed of a mixture of materials such as copper, tin, indium, silicon, oxides of the above items, or a combination of the above items. The fourth material may further include an adhesive material. For example, the first material may be a conductive material, generally a metal, such as copper (Cu) or nickel (Ni). The fourth material can be graphite, silicon or silicon-containing graphite. The second material may be a low melting point metal, such as an alkali metal, such as lithium. The third material may be a protective film or an interlayer film operable to protect the low melting point metal.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of a flexible substrate coating system 300 incorporating one or more metrology modules in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. The flexible substrate coating system 300 includes a first metering module 370 and an optional second metering module 380 . The first metrology module 370 may be at least one of a spectroscopic metrology module, a capacitance-based metrology module, or a thickness metrology module. The second metrology module 380 may be at least one of a spectroscopic metrology module, a capacitance-based metrology module, or a thickness metrology module. In one example, the first metrology module 370 is a thickness metrology module and the second metrology module 380 is a spectrometry module. A thickness metrology module may be configured to measure the thickness of material deposited on a continuous flexible substrate. The spectrometer module can be configured to measure at least one of surface roughness, surface contamination, and protective layer quality.

The flexible substrate coating system 300 may be a SMARTWEB® system manufactured by Applied Materials, adapted for fabricating lithium-containing anode film stacks in accordance with the embodiments described herein. The flexible substrate coating system 300 may be used to fabricate lithium-containing anodes, particularly film stacks for lithium-containing anodes, such as the flexible layer stack 100 and the flexible layer stack 200 . The flexible substrate coating system 300 includes a common processing environment 301 in which some or all of the processing actions for fabricating lithium-containing anodes may be performed. In one example, co-processing environment 301 is operable as a vacuum environment. In another example, the co-processing environment 301 is operable as an inert gas environment.

The flexible substrate coating system 300 is configured as a roll-to-roll system including an unwind module 302 for supplying the continuous flexible substrate, a processing module 304 for processing the continuous flexible substrate, and a collection module for collecting the continuous flexible substrate. The winding module 308. The processing module 304 includes a chamber body 305 defining a common processing environment 301 .

In some embodiments, the processing module 304 includes a plurality of processing modules or subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 arranged in sequence, each configured to perform a processing operation on the continuous flexible substrate 110 or web of material. In one example, as depicted in FIG. 3 , the subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 are disposed radially around a coating drum 355 . Furthermore, arrangements other than the radial direction are also contemplated. For example, in another embodiment, the subchambers 310, 320, 330 may be positioned in a linear configuration. The subchambers 310, 320, 330 are separated by partition walls 312a-312d (collectively 312). For example, the first subchamber 310 is bounded by partition walls 312a and 312b, the second subchamber 320 is bounded by partition walls 312b and 312c, and the third subchamber 330 is bounded by partition walls 312c and 312d. In one example, the sub-chambers 310 , 320 , 330 are enclosed by a partition wall 312 except for a narrow arc-shaped gap. Although subchambers 310, 320, 330 are each depicted as having a single deposition source, each subchamber 310-330 may also be divided into two or more compartments, each compartment including a separate deposition source. With the exception of narrow openings that allow deposition on coating drum 355, compartments may be closed or isolated from adjacent compartments.

In some embodiments, the subchambers 310, 320, 330 are independent modular subchambers, wherein each modular processing chamber is structurally separate from the other modular subchambers. Thus, each of the independently modular subchambers can be arranged, rearranged, replaced or maintained independently without affecting the other. While three subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 are shown, it should be understood that any number of subchambers may be included in the flexible substrate coating system 300 .

Subchambers 310, 320, 330 may include any suitable structure, configuration, arrangement, and/or components that allow flexible substrate coating system 300 to deposit lithium-containing anode film stacks in accordance with embodiments described and discussed herein. For example, without limitation, the sub-chamber may include a suitable deposition system including coating sources, power supplies, individual pressure controls, deposition control systems, and temperature controls. In some embodiments, the subchambers 310, 320, 330 are provided with individual gas supplies. As described herein, the subchambers 310, 320, 330 are generally separated from each other to provide good gas separation. While three subchambers 310, 320, 330 are depicted, it should be understood that the processing module 304 may include any number of subchambers depending on processing needs. For example, flexible substrate coating system 300 may include, but is not limited to, 3, 6, or 12 subchambers.

Each of the subchambers 310, 320, 330 may include one or more deposition sources. For example, the first subchamber 310 includes a first deposition source 313 , the second subchamber 320 includes a second deposition source 315 , and the third subchamber 330 includes a third deposition source 317 . Generally, the one or more deposition sources as described herein include electron beam sources and additional sources, which may be selected from the group of CVD sources, PECVD sources, and various PVD sources. Exemplary PVD sources include sputtering sources, electron beam evaporation sources, and thermal evaporation sources. In one or more embodiments, the evaporation source is a lithium (Li) source. Further, the evaporation source may also be an alloy of two or more metals. The material to be deposited, such as lithium, may be provided in a crucible. Lithium can be evaporated, for example, by thermal evaporation techniques or by electron beam evaporation techniques.

In one example, the first deposition source 313 is a sputtering source, the second deposition source 315 is an electron beam evaporation source, and the third deposition source 317 is a thermal evaporation source.

In some embodiments, the subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 are configured to process both sides of the continuous flexible substrate 110 . Although flexible substrate coating system 300 is configured to process a continuous flexible substrate 110 that is oriented horizontally, flexible substrate coating system 300 may also be configured to process substrates positioned in a different orientation, for example, continuous flexible substrate 110 may is vertically oriented. In some embodiments, the continuous flexible substrate 110 is a flexible conductive substrate. In some embodiments, the continuous flexible substrate 110 includes a conductive substrate with one or more layers formed thereon. In some embodiments, the conductive substrate is a copper substrate.

In some embodiments, the flexible substrate coating system 300 includes a substrate transport arrangement 352 . The substrate transport arrangement 352 may include any transport mechanism capable of moving the continuous flexible substrate 110 through the subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 . The substrate transport arrangement 352 may include a reel-to-reel system with a common take-up reel 354 positioned in the winding module 308, a coating drum 355 positioned in the processing module 304 and a feed reel 356 positioned in the unrolling module 302 . The take-up spool 354, coating drum 355 and feed spool 356 may be individually heated. The take-up spool 354, coating drum 355, and feed spool 356 may be individually heated using internal or external heat sources positioned within each spool. The substrate transport arrangement 352 may further include one or more auxiliary transport reels 353 a , 353 b positioned between the take-up reel 354 , the coating drum 355 and the feed reel 356 . According to one aspect, at least one of the one or more auxiliary transport spools 353a, 353b, take-up spool 354, coating drum 355, and feed spool 356 may be driven and rotated by a motor.

In some embodiments, the first metering module 370 is positioned downstream of the plurality of subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 and upstream of the take-up spool 354 . In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 3 , a first metrology module 370 is located in the processing module 304 . Other locations for the first metering module 370 are also contemplated. In one example, a first metering module 370 may be positioned within the winding module 308 . In another example, the first metering module 370 is positioned in a separate module, and the separate module is positioned between the processing module 304 and the winding module 308 .

In some embodiments, the second metering module 380 is positioned downstream of the plurality of subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 and upstream of the take-up spool 354 . In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 3 , a second metrology module 380 is located in the processing module 304 . Other locations for the second metering module 380 are also contemplated. In one example, a second metering module 380 may be positioned within the winding module 308 . In another example, the second metering module 380 is positioned in a separate module, and the separate module is positioned between the processing module 304 and the winding module 308 .

The flexible substrate coating system 300 includes a feed reel 356 and a take-up reel 354 for moving the continuous flexible substrate 110 through the different subchambers 310 , 320 , 330 . In operation, the continuous flexible substrate 110 is unwound from the feed reel 356 as indicated by the direction of substrate travel indicated by arrow 309 . The continuous flexible substrate 110 may be guided via the one or more auxiliary transport reels 353a, 353b. It is also possible that the continuous flexible substrate 110 is guided by one or more substrate guidance control units (not shown) which should control the continuous flexible substrate 110, for example by fine-tuning the orientation of the continuous flexible substrate 110. correct operation of the flexible substrate 110.

After being unwound from the feed reel 356 and run over the auxiliary transfer reel 353a, the continuous flexible substrate 110 is then moved over a zone provided at the coating drum 355 corresponding to the location of the one or more deposition sources 313, 315 and 317. deposition area. After passing through the one or more deposition sources 313, 315, and 317, the processed continuous flexible substrate 110 then passes through a first metrology module 370 and a second metrology module 380, where the thickness and quality.

During operation, coating drum 355 rotates about axis 351 , causing the flexible substrate to move in a direction of travel represented by arrow 309 .

The flexible substrate coating system 300 further includes a system controller 360 operable to control various aspects of the flexible substrate coating system 300 . The system controller 360 facilitates the control and automation of the flexible substrate coating system 300 and may include a central processing unit (CPU), memory, and supporting circuitry (or I/O). Software instructions and data can be encoded and stored in memory for instructing the CPU. System controller 360 may communicate with one or more of the components of flexible substrate coating system 300 via, for example, a system bus. Programs (or computer instructions) readable by the system controller 360 determine which tasks are executable on the substrate. In some aspects, the program is software readable by the system controller 360, which may include code for controlling the removal and replacement of multi-segment rings. While a single system controller (system controller 360 ) is shown, it should be understood that multiple system controllers may also be used with the aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a portion of the flexible substrate coating system 300 of FIG. 3 incorporating a second metrology module 380 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. The second metering module 380 may be used in the flexible substrate coating system 300 . The second metering module 380 is depicted adjacent to the coating drum 355 and the third subchamber 330 of the flexible substrate coating system 300 on which the continuous flexible substrate 110 is disposed. Although depicted as part of the flexible substrate coating system 300, the second metering module 380 may also be used with other coating systems.

In some embodiments, third subchamber 330 is bounded by subchamber body 420 over which edge shield 430 or mask is positioned. The third sub-chamber 330 includes a plurality of third deposition sources 317a-317d (collectively referred to as 317). Each of the third deposition sources 317a-317d emits a plume of evaporated material 418a-418d (collectively 418) that is drawn to the continuous flexible substrate 110 where a patterned film of deposited material 440 formed on the continuous flexible substrate 110 . Edge shield 430 includes one or more apertures that define a pattern of evaporated material deposited on continuous flexible substrate 110 . In one example, edge shield 430 includes two apertures 432a, 432b (collectively 432). As depicted in FIG. 4 , edge shield 430 defines a patterned film of deposited material 440 on continuous flexible substrate 110 . The patterned film of deposited material 440 includes a first strip of deposited material 442a and a second strip of deposited material 422b that both extend in the direction of substrate travel of the continuous flexible substrate 110 indicated by arrow 309 . The edge shield 430 leaves an uncoated strip along the proximal edge 443 of the continuous flexible substrate 110, an uncoated strip along the distal edge 445 of the continuous flexible substrate 110, and bounded by the first deposited material strip. 442a and the uncoated strip 447 between the second deposition material strip 442b. In one example, the first hole 432a defines a first strip of deposition material 442a and the second hole 432b defines a second strip of deposition material 442b.

The second metering module 380 includes a plurality of non-contact sensors 462 a - 462 c disposed in the first module body 460 . In some embodiments, as depicted in FIG. 4 , the plurality of contactless sensors 462 a - 462 c are positioned side-by-side along a lateral direction represented by arrow 450 , which is parallel to the direction of travel represented by arrow 309 . vertical. Positioning the plurality of non-contact sensors 462a - 462c along the lateral direction represented by arrow 450 allows the sensors to monitor across the width of the continuous flexible substrate 110 . The plurality of contactless sensors 462a-462c may include any number of image sensors, eddy current sensors (ECS), and/or thickness sensors.

FIG. 5 depicts a spectrometry module 500 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. The spectrometer module 500 may be employed in a coating system such as the flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 . In one example, spectral metrology module 500 is positioned in the position occupied by first metrology module 370 . In another example, spectral metrology module 500 is positioned in the position occupied by second metrology module 380 .

The spectrometry module 500 includes a sensor arrangement 505 . The sensor arrangement 505 may be positioned in an atmospheric compartment 570 bounded by a housing 572 as shown in FIG. 5 . Housing 572 includes at least one window 510a, 510b, and 510c (collectively 510). Although three windows 510a, 510b, 510c are shown, it should be understood that more or less than three windows 510 may also be used. The number of windows 510 generally corresponds to the number of contactless sensors within sensor arrangement 505 . Window 510 may be composed of any suitable material that is resistant to processing chemicals within the coating system and that allows optical sensors to monitor deposited material. Atmospheric compartment 570 may be sized to fit within a coating system (eg, flexible substrate coating system 300 ).

In some embodiments, the sensor arrangement 505 includes a strobe light 503, and different sets of optics 501a, 501b, and 501c (collectively 501). Although three sets of optics 501a, 501b, and 501c are shown, it should be understood that more or less than three sets of optics may also be used. Each set of optics 501 includes a lens 502 , a beam splitter 504 , a focusing lens 506 and a collimating lens 508 . Optical elements 501a, 501b, 501c are positioned over different locations on the continuous flexible substrate 110 to capture individual 2D images 522a, 522b, 522c, respectively. The sensor arrangement 505 further comprises a spectral diffraction grating 512 or grating, which acts as a wavelength dispersing element. Array 514 of light channel elements 516 maps individual image elements (pixels) of the image formed by lens 508 to corresponding positions along linear slits 520 of spectral diffraction grating 512 . As will be described below, the array 514 of light channel elements 516 can be implemented in various ways, such as a bundle of fiber optic cables (in which case each light channel element 516 is an optical fiber) or an array of microlenses (in which case a Light channel element 516 is a microlens). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , array 514 maps a two-dimensional image 522 from continuous flexible substrate 110 comprising an array of image elements 523 a , 523 b , 523 c (collectively 523 ) along linear slit 520 into an organic image. Sequential image element lines. Each image element 523 is captured by a corresponding one of the light channel elements 516 .

In some embodiments, imager array 530 , such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) array, captures the spectral image formed by spectral diffraction grating 512 . A lens assembly, shown as lens assembly 532 , focuses light from spectral diffraction grating 512 onto imager array 530 . Images on imager array 530 are ordered in rows 534 of pixels 536 according to row index number “i,” each row 534 formed by light from a corresponding one of light channel elements 516 . As indicated in FIG. 5, the individual pixels 536 of each row 534 are aligned in order of increasing wavelength λ. Thus, each image element 523 in captured two-dimensional image 522 is mapped to a row 534 of pixels 536 on imager array 530 , each row 534 constituting a spectral image of one image element 523 . In the embodiment of FIG. 5, there are three columns of light channel elements 516 (labeled ROW1, ROW2, and ROW3) in array 514, facing lens 508, and lens assembly 532 focuses the light so that the three columns span imager array 530 from left to right. Sorted to the right, each image element 523 is mapped to a wavelength-dispersive row on the imager array 530 . The image data held in imager array 530 is fed to image processor 550 , which may be part of system controller 360 . Image processor 550 infers from the data which of light channel elements 516 are aligned only on the homogenous region of interest of continuous flexible substrate 110 and combines their outputs to produce an enhanced spectrum. Spectral analysis processor 560, which may be part of system controller 360, analyzes the enhanced spectrum to provide a measure of a property (eg, film thickness) of the homogeneous region of the continuous sheet of flexible material.

As depicted in Figure 5, different columns of light channel elements 516 (labeled ROW1, ROW2 and ROW3) are individually coupled to different sets of optics 501a, 501b, 501c, respectively. Optical elements 501a, 501b, 501c are positioned over different locations on the continuous flexible substrate 110 to capture individual 2D images 522a, 522b, 522c, respectively. A common strobe light 503 illuminates the optics 501a, 501b, and 501c. The embodiment of FIG. 5 can be used to perform simultaneous measurements in differently spaced regions of the continuous flexible substrate 110 .

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a processing sequence 600 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. Process sequence 600 may be performed using a spectrometric module, such as spectrometric module 500 depicted in FIG. 5 . The spectrometer module 500 may be positioned in a coating system, such as the flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

At operation 610 , during transport of the continuous flexible substrate 110 through the sensor arrangement 505 , the strobe light 503 blinks once in the defined field of view. At operation 620, the generated spectral distribution at each image element within the field of view is recorded. At operation 630, each pair of distributions is compared to determine whether they are similar. Similarity decisions can be based on conventional calculations such as mean squared deviation, sum of absolute differences, or sum of variances. The processor then groups the distributions into groups of distributions that are similar to each other. Next, group the groups by the number of distributions contained in each group. At operation 640, the n largest groups are verified, where n is the number of interior uniform regions of the continuous sheet of flexible material within the field of view, or a number less than that number. In one example, a similarity between any two distributions may be inferred at operation 630 whenever the sum of the variances between the two distributions is less than a predetermined threshold. This predetermined threshold may be varied in a trial and error procedure until the number of groups (n) found at operation 630 matches the number of homogenous regions within the sensor's field of view. At operation 650, the processor invalidates groups that were not verified at operation 630 and discards their distributions. At operation 660, for each of the active groups, the processor combines the distributions of the group together and outputs the combined distribution as a spectral distribution for a corresponding region of the continuous sheet of flexible material. At operation 670, the spectral analysis processor 560 processes each combined distribution according to conventional spectral analysis procedures. The quality of the deposited film can then be reported.

Spectrometry module 500 can be used to detect color changes in deposited materials. These color changes were observed after application of metallic lithium and protective layer coatings to pre-lithiated anodes and lithium metal anodes. Thus, color change can be used to further facilitate accurate non-contact optical-based characterization.

FIG. 7 illustrates an eddy current sensor (ECS) module 700 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. The ECS module 700 may be employed in a coating system such as the flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 . In one example, ECS module 700 is positioned in the position occupied by first metering module 370 . In another example, ECS module 700 is positioned in the position occupied by second metering module 380 .

ECS module 700 includes sensor arrangement 706 . The sensor arrangement 706 may be positioned in an atmospheric compartment 770 bounded by a housing 772 , as shown in FIG. 7 . Housing 772 includes at least one window 780a, 780b (collectively 780). While two windows 780a, 780b are shown, it should be understood that more or less than two windows 780 may also be used. The number of windows 780 generally corresponds to the number of contactless sensors within sensor arrangement 706 . Window 780 may be composed of any suitable material that is resistant to the processing chemicals within the coating system and that allows an optical sensor to monitor the deposited material. Atmospheric compartment 770 may be sized to fit within a coating system (eg, flexible substrate coating system 300 ).

The ECS module 700 generally operates according to Faraday's law of induction and Cold's law. The sensor arrangement 706 includes at least a pair of ECS sensors 710a, 710b (collectively 710). In some embodiments, the first ECS sensor 710 a is positioned over the film material 702 formed on the substrate 704 and the second ECS sensor is positioned over the substrate 704 . In one example, the membrane material 702 includes an anode material with a thin lithium metal layer formed thereon. In another example, membrane material 702 is a lithium metal anode. In one example, substrate 704 is continuous flexible substrate 110 .

Each ECS sensor 710a, 710b has a coil 712a, 712b (collectively 712) and a signal oscillator 714a, 714b (collectively 714), such as an alternating current (AC) signal source. Electromagnetic interaction between an AC drive coil and a conductive object such as the membrane material 702 or substrate 704 by generating eddy currents within the object is generally affected by a number of variables. These variables include the distance from the coil to the sample, the AC frequency of the coil drive signal, the coil geometry and dimensions, the conductivity of the material of the object, and in the case of a film sample, the film thickness, especially if the thickness is less than the penetration depth of the electromagnetic field. of those instances. In typical applications involving film thickness measurements, frequency, coil geometry and dimensions, and film conductivity are generally constant. As a result, the variables of distance and membrane thickness are often the main variables affecting the coil-sample interaction.

In some embodiments, coil 712 and signal oscillator 714 are controlled by a controller (eg, system controller 360 ). In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 7 , the coil 712 may be driven by a signal oscillator 714 at a frequency in the range of 1 kHz to 10 MHz, for example. It should be understood, however, that the particular frequency utilized may depend on the particular application, including film thickness ranges, material properties, lift-off distance limitations, and the like.

A coil 712 driven by an oscillating signal oscillator 714 generates an oscillating magnetic field that induces a circular current inside adjacent conductive material (eg, film material 702 or substrate 704 ). The induced eddy currents in turn generate their own magnetic fields that oppose the magnetic field generated by coil 712 . It should be understood that in addition to conductive metal films, the ECS module can also be used with other conductive films.

The interaction between the generated and induced magnetic fields modifies the complex impedance of the coil 712 . Changes in complex impedance may be detected by sensing circuits 716 a , 716 b (collectively 716 ) coupled to coil 712 and controlled by system controller 360 . In this example, the sensing circuit 716 outputs a single parameter output signal "S", such as resistive loss, as a function of the changed complex impedance. It should be understood that ECS module 700 may have other types of single and multiple parameter sensing circuits depending on the particular application. The output “S” of sensing circuit 716 may be interpreted by processor 740 or other computing elements controlled by system controller 360 to provide useful measurements of film material 702 . The output S can be in analog or digital form. If in analog form, processor 740 may include suitable analog-to-digital conversion circuitry. In some embodiments, the resistive loss signal is measured in millivolts. It should be understood that other units of measurement may be utilized depending on the particular application. Processor 740 may be part of system controller 360 .

The extent to which the complex impedance of the coil 712 is altered is generally a function of the strength of the magnetic field induced by eddy currents in the membrane material 702 . In turn, the strength of the induced eddy current 720 is a function of the conductivity of the membrane material 702 and the lift-off distance “L” between the coil 712 and the material of the membrane material 702 . When the film thickness T (as indicated by the arrow) of the film material 702 is less than the penetration depth of the external magnetic field at the driving frequency of the signal oscillator 714, the induced eddy current is also a function of the film thickness T of the material.

According to an aspect of the present description, at least two unknown values such as the lift-off distance L and the film thickness "T" of the film material 702 can be obtained by outputting the signal "S" of the sensing circuit 716 to the ECS module. The calibration generated by the 700 is compared to previously obtained calibration data to determine.

The ECS module 700 may further include at least one laser profiler 790 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7 , laser profiler 790 is positioned within housing 772 . The scan field of laser profiler 790 is depicted by arrow 794 . In another embodiment, laser profiler 790 is positioned outside housing 772 . Laser profiler 790 may be an LVDT profiler thickness sensor. The laser profiler 790 can be used to measure the lift-off distance of the web. Signal 792 from laser profiler 790 may be communicated to processor 740 . The lift-off distance measured by the laser profiler 790 can be used to correct for web chatter of the moving continuous flexible substrate 110 .

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a processing sequence 800 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. Process sequence 800 may be performed using a metering module, such as ECS module 700 depicted in FIG. 7 . The ECS module 700 may be positioned in a coating system, such as the flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

At operation 810 , a non-contact resistivity measurement is taken of the lithium coating formed over the continuous flexible substrate 110 while the continuous flexible substrate 110 is transported through the sensor arrangement 706 . In one example, the lithium coating can be a lithium metal anode, such as the first layer 120 of the flexible layer stack 100 depicted in FIG. 1 . In another example, the lithium coating may be a pre-lithiated layer, such as the first layer 120 of the flexible layer stack 200 depicted in FIG. 2 . At operation 820, non-contact laser interferometry is performed during the resistivity measurement. Laser interferometry is used to adjust the lift-off distance of the two coils to correct for web chatter of the continuous flexible substrate 110 . Laser interferometry may be performed using a laser profiler 790 . At operation 830, the value of the resistivity measurement and a previously determined correlation between the resistivity measurement and the resistive thickness of the lithium coating that is further corrected for web flutter using laser interferometry is used to determine the first thickness of the coating. Lithium thickness. At operation 840, the continuous flexible substrate 110 is rewound and then held for passive or active aging. At operation 850, during winding of the continuous flexible substrate 110 past the sensor, the non-contact resistivity measurement and laser interferometry are repeated and a second lithium thickness is determined. The second lithium thickness can also be corrected for liftoff using laser interferometry. At operation 860, the second lithium thickness is compared to the first lithium thickness to determine the amount of lithium intercalated into the anode.

FIG. 9 illustrates a roughness metrology module 900 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. Roughness metrology module 900 may be employed in a coating system such as flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 . In one example, the roughness metrology module 900 is positioned in the position occupied by the first metrology module 370 . In another example, the roughness metrology module 900 is positioned in the position occupied by the second metrology module 380 .

In some embodiments, the roughness metrology module 900 is based on a Michelson interferometer design. The roughness metrology module 900 includes a sensor arrangement 901 . The sensor arrangement 901 may be positioned in an atmospheric compartment 902 bounded by a housing 904, as shown in FIG. 9 . Housing 904 includes at least one window 906 . Although one window 906 is shown, it should be understood that more than one window 906 may also be used. The number of windows 906 generally corresponds to the number of contactless sensors within the sensor arrangement 901 . The window 906 may be composed of any suitable material that is resistant to the processing chemicals within the coating system and that allows an optical sensor to monitor the deposited material. Atmospheric compartment 902 may be sized to fit within a coating system (eg, flexible substrate coating system 300 ).

In some embodiments, roughness metrology module 900 is positioned to obtain an image of film material 702 formed on substrate 704 . In one example, the membrane material 702 includes an anode material with a thin lithium metal layer formed thereon. In another example, membrane material 702 is a lithium metal anode. In one example, substrate 704 is continuous flexible substrate 110 . The sensor arrangement 901 may be concentrated on one or more edges 705 of the film material 702 . The sensor arrangement 901 may be positioned after the lithium metal and protective layer coating source in the coating system.

In some embodiments, the sensor arrangement 901 includes one of more polarized structured light (PSL) sources 910 that can project a narrow band of light onto the three-dimensional edge 705 (eg, the three-dimensional anode edge) of the film material 702 . Coatings near the three-dimensional edge 705 typically have inherent nanoscale roughness, which causes reflected polarized light to scatter and depolarize. The scattered and depolarized light is recorded by image sensor 940 . The roughness proportional to the polarized light source is calculated using the comparison between the two reference waves and the emission from the film material 702 . In one example, the polarized structured light source 910 may be a laser source, such as a 488nm laser source.

In some embodiments, the roughness metrology module 900 includes a polarized structured light source 910 for generating an input beam, a beam splitter 920 and an image sensor 940 . In one example, polarized structured light source 910 is an argon laser source. Other suitable light sources may be used. In one example, image sensor 940 is a two-dimensional (2D) detector, such as a CCD or CMOS camera. Other suitable 2D detectors may be used. In some embodiments, a polarizer 912 may be positioned at the output of the polarizing structured light source 910 to provide a linearly polarized beam. The roughness metrology module 900 further includes a beam splitter 920 . The input beam from polarized structured light source 910 illuminates a rough surface (eg, surface 703 of film material 702 ) after passing through optional polarizer 912 and beam splitter 920 . The input beam hits the rough surface, and the scattered light changes polarization due to the roughness of the rough surface. The beam splitter 920 reflects a part of the light returning from the rough surface to the image sensor 940 through the focusing lens 930 . In one example, focusing lens 930 is an achromatic lens. In some embodiments, adjustable aperture 950 is positioned between focusing lens 930 and image sensor 940 . The beam splitter 920 reflects another portion of the light returning from the rough surface onto a reflector 960 (eg, a planar reflector). Mirror 960 can be tilted. In some embodiments, quarter wave plate 970 is positioned between reflector 960 and beam splitter 920 . Due to the positioning of the quarter wave plate 970, the electric field of the light reflected by the reflector 960 can be split into two parts providing two planar reference waves.

The roughness metrology module 900 may further include at least one laser profiler 990 . In the embodiment of FIG. 9 , laser profiler 990 is positioned within housing 904 . In another embodiment, laser profiler 990 is positioned outside housing 904 . Laser profiler 990 may be a LVDT profiler thickness sensor. The scan field of laser profiler 990 is depicted by arrow 994 . The Laser Profiler 990 can be used to measure the lift-off distance of the web. Signal 992 from laser profiler 990 may be communicated to system controller 360 . The lift-off distance measured by the laser profiler 990 can be used to correct for web chatter of the moving continuous flexible substrate 110 .

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a processing sequence 1000 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein. Process sequence 1000 may be performed using a roughness metrology module, such as roughness metrology module 900 depicted in FIG. 9 . Roughness metrology module 900 may be positioned in a coating system, such as flexible substrate coating system 300 depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

At operation 1010, one or more fringe patterns (eg, three or more fringe patterns) of polarized structured light are projected in a defined field of view during transport of the continuous flexible substrate 110 through the sensor arrangement 901 . At operation 1020, the intensity at each image element within the field of view is recorded for each fringe offset. At operation 1030, a measure of coating roughness is determined from the image element intensity distribution. At operation 1040, non-contact laser interferometry is performed within the field of view. Non-contact laser interferometry can be performed during roughness measurement. Laser interferometry can be used to adjust the web lift distance. Laser interferometry may be performed using a laser profiler 990 . At operation 1050, edge coating roll-off ( roll-off) measurement. At operation 1060, PVD source and shield temperatures are adjusted to address edge definition non-compliance.

The embodiments and those described in this specification can be implemented with digital electronic circuit systems, or with computer software, firmware or hardware (including the structural means disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents), or with a combination of the above items all functional operations. The embodiments described herein may be implemented as one or more non-transitory computer program products (e.g., one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage element) for use by data processing apparatus (e.g. programmable processor, computer or multiple processors or computers) to execute or control the operation of the data processing device.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The process and logic flow can also be performed by, and devices can be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) .

The term "data processing device" includes all devices, components and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer or a plurality of processors or computers. The device may include, in addition to hardware, code that generates an execution environment for the computer program in question, such as the components that make up a processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or one or more of them. Combined code. Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include by way of example both general and special purpose microprocessors and any processor or processors of any kind of digital computer.

Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data includes all forms of non-volatile memory, media, and memory elements, including by way of example: semiconductor memory elements such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory components; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD ROMs and DVD-ROMs. The processor and memory may be supplemented by or incorporated into special purpose logic circuitry.

Embodiments described and discussed herein are further related to any one or more of the following Examples 1-31:

1. A flexible substrate coating system comprising: a processing module comprising: a plurality of chambers arranged in sequence, each chamber configured to perform one or more processing operations on a continuous sheet of flexible material; and a coating drum capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of chambers along a direction of travel, wherein the chambers are radially disposed about the coating drum; and a metering module comprising: a plurality of non-contact The sensors are positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction, wherein the transverse direction is perpendicular to the direction of travel.

2. The flexible substrate coating system of example 1, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors includes a spectral sensor assembly operable to capture coating of the continuous sheet of flexible material Spectral images of coated and uncoated sections.

3. The flexible substrate coating system of example 1 or 2, wherein the spectral sensor assembly includes a stroboscopic light source and an imager.

4. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-3, wherein the imager is a charge coupled device (CCD) array.

5. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-4, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors comprises a first eddy current sensor and a second eddy current sensor, the The first eddy current sensor is operable to measure the thickness of the coated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material and the second eddy current sensor is operable to measure the thickness of the uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material.

6. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-5, further comprising an optical profiler operable to measure web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material.

7. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-6, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors includes a web roughness sensor that can Operated to measure the surface roughness of the coated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material and the uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material.

8. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-7, wherein the web roughness sensor comprises an argon laser and a CMOS camera.

9. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-8, further comprising: an unwinding module housing a feed reel capable of providing the continuous sheet of flexible material; and a winding module housing a spool capable of storing A take-up reel for the continuous sheet of flexible material.

10. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-9, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate on which a lithium metal layer is formed.

11. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-10, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate on which a lithiated anode film is formed.

12. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-11, wherein the lithiated anodic film comprises a graphite anode film, a silicon-graphite anode film, or a silicon film.

13. The flexible substrate coating system of any one of examples 1-12, wherein the plurality of chambers includes at least one of a sputtering source, a thermal evaporation source, and an electron beam source.

14. A method comprising the steps of transporting a continuous sheet of flexible material from a feed reel in an unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating drum, the The first coating drum is capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through a plurality of deposition units; guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units along the direction of travel while passing through the plurality of deposition units in the continuous flexure depositing a lithium metal film on a sheet of flexible material, wherein the chambers are arranged radially around the coating drum; the continuous sheet of flexible material is guided through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors have a field of view coincident with the path of travel traversed by the continuous sheet of flexible material, and the transverse direction is perpendicular to the direction of travel; flickering in the field while directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the field of view; obtaining a still image of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view; channeling light corresponding to the light channel reflected from the corresponding image element of the still image The channel elements are directed to corresponding positions of the spectral beam splitter; and the spectral distribution at each image element within the field of view is recorded.

15. The method of example 14, further comprising the steps of: searching for distributions that are similar to each other and grouping the distributions into groups of distributions that are similar to each other; sorting the distributions according to the number of distributions contained in each group such groups; selecting at least one of the largest groups and combining the distributions of the group and providing the combined distribution as the spectral distribution for a region of the continuous sheet of flexible material; and based on The spectral analysis process deals with this combined distribution.

16. The method of examples 14 or 15, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the copper substrate.

17. The method of any one of examples 14-16, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate on which an anode film is formed and the lithium metal film is formed on the anode film.

18. The method of any one of examples 14-17, wherein the anodic film is selected from a graphite anode film, a silicon-graphite anode film, or a silicon film.

19. A method comprising the steps of transporting a continuous sheet of flexible material from a feed reel in an unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating drum, the The first coating drum is capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through a plurality of deposition units; guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units along the direction of travel while passing through the plurality of deposition units in the continuous flexure depositing a lithium metal film on a sheet of flexible material, wherein the chambers are arranged radially around the coating drum; the continuous sheet of flexible material is guided through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors, wherein the optical sensors have a field of view that coincides with the path of travel traversed by the continuous sheet of flexible material, and the transverse direction is perpendicular to the direction of travel; and obtaining First non-contact resistivity measurement of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material.

20. The method of example 19, further comprising the step of: using the first non-contact resistivity measurement to determine a first thickness of the lithium metal film.

21. The method of example 19 or 20, wherein the step of determining the first thickness of the lithium metal film comprises the first non-contact resistivity measurement and the difference between the resistivity measurement and the corresponding lithium metal film thickness Correlations of previous decisions are compared.

22. The method of any one of examples 19-21, further comprising the step of: obtaining a non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view.

23. The method of any one of examples 19-22, further comprising the step of determining web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material based on the non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material.

24. The method of any one of examples 19-23, further comprising the step of: adjusting the first thickness measurement of the lithium metal film based on the web flutter to determine a corrected first thickness of the lithium metal film .

25. The method of any one of examples 19-24, further comprising the step of: aging the lithium metal film for a period of time.

26. The method of any one of examples 19-25, further comprising the step of obtaining, after aging the lithium metal film for a period of time, an image of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view a second non-contact resistivity measurement; and determining a second thickness of the lithium metal film using the second non-contact resistivity measurement.

27. The method of any one of examples 19-26, wherein the step of determining the second thickness of the lithium metal film comprises aligning the second non-contact resistivity measurement and the resistivity measurement with the corresponding lithium metal film The previously determined correlations between the thicknesses were compared.

28. The method of any one of examples 19-27, further comprising the step of: determining where to deposit by comparing the first thickness of the lithium metal film with the second thickness of the lithium metal film The amount of pre-lithiation of the anodic film on the continuous sheet of flexible material.

29. The method of any one of examples 19-28, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the copper substrate.

30. The method of any one of examples 19-29, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate, an anode film is formed on the copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the anode film.

31. The method of any one of examples 19-30, wherein the anodic film is selected from a graphite anode film, a silicon-graphite anode film, or a silicon film.

While the foregoing relates to embodiments of the disclosure, other and additional embodiments can be devised without departing from the essential scope of the disclosure, and the scope of the disclosure is determined by the following claims . All documents described herein are hereby incorporated by reference, including any priority documents and/or testing procedures, to the extent they are not inconsistent with this document. While the form of the disclosure has been illustrated and described, as will be understood from the foregoing general description and specific examples, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not intended to be limited in this regard. Likewise, the terms "comprise" or "have" are considered synonymous with the term "comprises" for legal purposes. Likewise, whenever a composition, element, or group of elements is preceded by the transitional phrase "comprising," it should be understood that a statement of a composition, element, or elements preceded by the transitional phrase "essentially Consists of, consists of, is selected from the group consisting of, or is the same constituents or groups of elements are contemplated, and vice versa. When introducing elements of the disclosure or exemplary aspects or embodiments thereof, the articles "a," "the," and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of those elements.

Certain embodiments and features have been described using a set of numerical upper limits and a set of numerical lower limits. It is to be understood that unless otherwise indicated, any combination of two values (for example, any combination of any lower value with any upper value, any combination of any two lower values, and/or any combination of any two upper values) is contemplated. ) range. Certain lower bounds, upper bounds and ranges appear in one or more of the claims below.

100: Flexible layer stacking 110: Continuous flexible substrate 113: edge 115: Uncoated strip 117: edge 200: Flexible layer stacking 300: Flexible Substrate Coating System 301: Co-processing the environment 302: Expand the module 304: Processing module 305: chamber body 308: Winding module 309: arrow 310: first subchamber 313: The first deposition source 315: Second deposition source 317: The third depositional source 320: second subchamber 330: the third sub-chamber 352:Substrate transportation arrangement 354: Winding scroll 355: coating drum 356: Feed Reel 360: System Controller 370: The first metering module 380:Second metering module 420: sub-chamber body 430: Edge Shield 440: Deposition Materials 443: edge 445: edge 447: Uncoated strip 450: arrow 460: The main body of the first module 500: Spectral metering module 502: lens 503: Strobe lights 504: beam splitter 505: Sensor Arrangement 506: Gathering lens 508: Collimating lens 512: spectral diffraction grating 514: array 516: Optical channel components 520: linear slit 530: imager array 532: Lens assembly 534: row 536: pixels 550: image processor 560: Spectrum Analysis Processor 570: atmospheric compartment 572: Shell 600: Processing sequence 610: Operation 620: Operation 630: Operation 640: Operation 650: operation 660: Operation 670: Operation 700: Eddy current sensor (ECS) module 702: Membrane material 703: surface 704: Substrate 705: 3D edge 706: Sensor arrangement 720: Induced eddy current 740: Processor 770: atmospheric compartment 772: shell 790: Laser Profiler 792:Signal 794:Arrow 800: Processing sequence 810: operation 820: Operation 830: Operation 840: Operation 850: operation 860: operation 900: Roughness measurement module 901: Sensor Arrangement 902: atmospheric compartment 904: Shell 906: window 910: structured light source 912: Polarizer 920: beam splitter 930: focus lens 940: image sensor 950: adjustable hole 960: reflector 970: Quarter wave plate 990: Laser Profiler 992:Signal 994:arrow 1000: processing sequence 1010: operation 1020: Operation 1030: Operation 1040: Operation 1050: Operation 1060: Operation 112a: First Membrane Stack 112b: Second membrane stack 112c: Third membrane stack 112d: Fourth membrane stack 120a: first floor 120b: first floor 120c: the first floor 120d: the first floor 130a: second floor 130b: second floor 130c: second floor 130d: the second floor 210a: third floor 210b: third floor 210c: the third floor 210d: the third floor 212a: Membrane stack 212b: Membrane stack 312a: partition wall 312b: partition wall 312c: partition wall 312d: partition wall 317a: The third depositional source 317b: The third depositional source 317c: The third depositional source 317d: The third depositional source 353a: Auxiliary Transport Scroll 353b: Auxiliary Transport Scroll 418a: evaporation material 418b: Evaporating materials 418c: evaporation material 418d: Evaporating materials 432a: hole 432b: hole 442a: First strip of deposited material 442b: Second strip of deposited material 462a: Non-contact sensor 462b: Non-contact sensor 462c: Non-contact sensor 501a: Optics 501b: Optics 501c: Optics 510a: first window 510b: second window 510c: third window 522a: Two-dimensional image 522b: Two-dimensional image 522c: Two-dimensional image 523a: Image element 523b: image element 523c: Image element 710a: First ECS sensor 710b: Second ECS sensor 712a: Coil 712b: Coil 714a: Signal Oscillator 714b: Signal Oscillator 716a: Sensing circuit 716b: Sensing circuit 780a: window 780b: window L: lift distance T: film thickness

A more detailed description of the embodiments briefly summarized above, and the manner in which the above features of the disclosure can be understood in detail, can be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of one example of a flexible layer stack formed in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein.

Figure 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of a flexible layer stack formed in accordance with one or more embodiments described herein.

Figure 3 shows a schematic side view of a vacuum processing system incorporating metering in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

4 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of the vacuum processing system of FIG. 3 in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

Figure 5 illustrates a spectroscopic metrology system in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a process in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an eddy current sensor (ECS) metrology system in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a process in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

Figure 9 illustrates a roughness sensor metrology system in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

Figure 10 shows a flow diagram of a process in accordance with one or more embodiments described and discussed herein.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numbers have been used wherever possible to identify identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated into other embodiments without further recitation.

Domestic deposit information (please note in order of depositor, date, and number) none

Overseas storage information (please note in order of storage country, organization, date, and number) none

309: arrow

330: the third sub-chamber

360: System Controller

380:Second metering module

420: sub-chamber body

430: Edge Shield

440: Deposition Materials

443: edge

445: edge

447: Uncoated strip

450: arrow

460: The main body of the first module

317a: The third depositional source

317b: The third depositional source

317c: The third depositional source

317d: The third depositional source

418a: evaporation material

418b: Evaporating materials

418c: evaporation material

418d: Evaporating materials

432a: hole

432b: hole

442a: First strip of deposited material

442b: Second strip of deposited material

462a: Non-contact sensor

462b: Non-contact sensor

462c: Non-contact sensor

Claims (20)

A flexible substrate coating system comprising: A processing module, including: a plurality of chambers, arranged in sequence, each chamber configured to perform one or more processing operations on a continuous sheet of flexible material; and a coating drum capable of guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material along a direction of travel through the plurality of chambers, wherein the chambers are radially disposed around the coating drum; and A metering module, including: A plurality of non-contact sensors are positioned side by side along a transverse direction, wherein the transverse direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors includes a spectral sensor assembly operable to capture the coated and Spectral image of the uncoated section. The coating system of claim 2, wherein the spectral sensor assembly includes a stroboscopic light source and an imager. The coating system of claim 3, wherein the imager is a charge coupled device (CCD) array. The coating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors include a first eddy current sensor and a second eddy current sensor, the first eddy current sensor is operable to measure a thickness of a coated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material, the second eddy current sensor is operable to measure a thickness of an uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The coating system of claim 1, further comprising an optical profiler operable to measure web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The coating system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of non-contact sensors includes a web roughness sensor operable to measure the Surface roughness of a coated portion and an uncoated portion of the continuous sheet of flexible material. The coating system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the web roughness sensor includes an argon laser and a CMOS camera. The coating system as described in claim 1, further comprising: an unwinding module housing a feed reel capable of providing the continuous sheet of flexible material; and A winding module houses a take-up reel capable of storing the continuous sheet of flexible material. The coating system of claim 9, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate on which a lithium metal layer is formed. The coating system of claim 9, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate on which a lithiated anodic film is formed. The coating system of claim 11, wherein the lithiated anode film comprises a graphite anode film, a silicon-graphite anode film or a silicon film. The coating system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of chambers include at least one of a sputtering source, a thermal evaporation source, and an electron beam source. A method comprising the steps of: A continuous sheet of flexible material is conveyed from a feed reel in an unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating drum, the first coating a drum capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units; guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material along a direction of travel through the plurality of deposition units while simultaneously depositing a film of lithium metal on the continuous sheet of flexible material via the plurality of deposition units, wherein the chambers surround the coating drum set radially; directing the continuous flexible sheet of material through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction, wherein the optical sensors have a a field of view coincident with a travel path traversed by the sheet of material, and the transverse direction is perpendicular to the travel direction; flashing a strobe light in the field of view while directing the continuous sheet of flexible material across the field of view; obtaining a still image of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view; directing corresponding light channel elements of light channels reflected from corresponding image elements of the still image to corresponding positions of a spectral beam splitter; and A spectral distribution is recorded at each image element within the field of view. The method as described in claim 14, further comprising the following steps: searching for distributions that are similar to each other and grouping the distributions into groups of distributions that are similar to each other; classify the groups according to the quantity of a distribution contained in each group; selecting at least one of the largest groups and combining the distributions for that group and providing the combined distribution as the spectral distribution for a region of the continuous sheet of flexible material; and The combined distribution is processed according to a spectral analysis process. The method of claim 15, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material includes a copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the copper substrate. The method of claim 15, wherein the continuous sheet of flexible material comprises a copper substrate, an anode film is formed on the copper substrate, and the lithium metal film is formed on the anode film, and wherein the anode film is selected from A graphite anode film, a silicon-graphite anode film or a silicon film. A method comprising the steps of: A continuous sheet of flexible material is conveyed from a feed reel in an unwinding chamber to a deposition module arranged downstream of the unwinding chamber, the deposition module comprising a first coating drum, the first coating a drum capable of directing the continuous sheet of flexible material through the plurality of deposition units; guiding the continuous sheet of flexible material along a direction of travel through the plurality of deposition units while simultaneously depositing a film of lithium metal on the continuous sheet of flexible material via the plurality of deposition units, wherein the chambers surround the coating drum set radially; directing the continuous flexible sheet of material through a metering module comprising a plurality of non-contact optical sensors positioned side-by-side along a transverse direction, wherein the optical sensors have a a field of view coincident with a path of travel traversed by the sheet of material, with the transverse direction perpendicular to the direction of travel; and A first non-contact resistivity measurement of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view is obtained. The method as described in claim 18, further comprising the following steps: Using the first non-contact resistivity measurement to determine a first thickness of the lithium metal film, wherein the step of determining the first thickness of the lithium metal film comprises the steps of: combining the first non-contact resistivity measurement with A previously determined correlation between the resistivity measurement and the corresponding Li metal film thickness is compared; obtaining a non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view; determining web flutter of the continuous sheet of flexible material based on the non-contact laser interferometry of the continuous sheet of flexible material; adjusting the first thickness measurement of the lithium metal film based on the web flutter to determine a corrected first thickness of the lithium metal film; The lithium metal film is aged for a period of time. The method as described in claim 19, further comprising the following steps: obtaining a second non-contact resistivity measurement of the lithium metal film on the continuous sheet of flexible material in the field of view after aging the lithium metal film for a period of time; Using the second non-contact resistivity measurement to determine a second thickness of the lithium metal film, wherein the step of determining the second thickness of the lithium metal film includes the step of: combining the second non-contact resistivity measurement with a previously determined correlation between the resistivity measurement and the corresponding lithium metal film thickness is compared; and A pre-lithiated amount of an anodic film deposited on the continuous sheet of flexible material is determined by comparing the first thickness of the lithium metal film to the second thickness of the lithium metal film.

Images